First green bank based in London and Edinburgh

Britain’s first Green Investment Bank will be based in London and Edinburgh, it was announced yesterday.

Business secretary Vince Cable said the decision will allow the GIB ‘to operate effectively’ (Pic: PA)

The bankâs main headquarters will be in the Scottish capital, with the main transaction team in the City.

The lender is expected to employ 50 to 70 full-time staff across the two sites, with the number of workers based in Scotland likely to rise from 2015.

Business secretary Vince Cable said: âThis decision will allow the GIB to operate effectively and achieve its mission of mobilising the additional investment needed to accelerate the UKâs transition to a green economy.â

The state-owned bank will get Â£3billion in public funds to help companies fund clean energy schemes and encourage private sector investment in similar projects. The government said it will invest in green infrastructure projects from April that focus on the GIBâs priority sectors, which include offshore wind power, waste processing and recycling and energy from waste generation.

But Ed Matthew, of Transform UK, the group behind the campaign to create the bank, called on chancellor George Osborne to lift the âcrippling constraintâ that the GIB cannot borrow until the next parliament.

He said: âIf the GIB canât borrow, it is not a bank and will fail to fulfil its potential to reboot the UK economy and repower our energy system at the scale and speed required.â